SKU: HL.49018099

ISBN 9790001158428. UPC: 884088567347. 8.25x11.75x0.457 inches. Latin - German.

On letting go(Concerning the selection of the texts) In the selection of the texts, I have allowed myself to be motivated and inspired by the concept of 'letting go'. This appears to me to be one of the essential aspects of dying, but also of life itself. We humans cling far too strongly to successful achievements, whether they have to do with material or ideal values, or relationships of all kinds. We cannot and do not want to let go, almost as if our life depended on it. As we will have to practise the art of letting go at the latest during our hour of death, perhaps we could already make a start on this while we are still alive. Tagore describes this farewell with very simple but strikingly vivid imagery: 'I will return the key of my door'. I have set this text for tenor solo. Here I imagine, and have correspondingly noted in a certain passage of the score, that the protagonist finds himself as though 'in an ocean' of voices in which he is however not drowning, but immersing himself in complete relaxation. The phenomenon of letting go is described even more simply and tersely in Psalm 90, verse 12: 'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom'. This cannot be expressed more plainly.I have begun the requiem with a solo boy's voice singing the beginning of this psalm on a single note, the note A. This in effect says it all. The work comes full circle at the culmination with a repeat of the psalm which subsequently leads into a resplendent 'lux aeterna'. The intermediate texts of the Requiem which highlight the phenomenon of letting go in the widest spectrum of colours originate on the one hand from the Latin liturgy of the Messa da Requiem (In Paradisum, Libera me, Requiem aeternam, Mors stupebit) and on the other hand from poems by Joseph von Eichendorff, Hermann Hesse, Rabindranath Tagore and Rainer Maria Rilke.All texts have a distinctive positive element in common and view death as being an organic process within the great system of the universe, for example when Hermann Hesse writes: 'Entreiss dich, Seele, nun der Zeit, entreiss dich deinen Sorgen und mache dich zum Flug bereit in den ersehnten Morgen' ['Tear yourself way , o soul, from time, tear yourself away from your sorrows and prepare yourself to fly away into the long-awaited morning'] and later: 'Und die Seele unbewacht will in freien Flugen schweben, um im Zauberkreis der Nacht tief und tausendfach zu leben' ['And the unfettered soul strives to soar in free flight to live in the magic sphere of the night, deep and thousandfold']. Or Joseph von Eichendorff whose text evokes a distant song in his lines: 'Und meine Seele spannte weit ihre Flugel aus. Flog durch die stillen Lande, als floge sie nach Haus' ['And my soul spread its wings wide. Flew through the still country as if homeward bound.']Here a strong romantically tinged occidental resonance can be detected which is however also accompanied by a universal spirit going far beyond all cultures and religions. In the beginning was the sound Long before any sort of word or meaningful phrase was uttered by vocal chords, sounds, vibrations and tones already existed. This brings us back to the music. Both during my years of study and at subsequent periods, I had been an active participant in the world of contemporary music, both as percussionist and also as conductor and composer. My early scores had a somewhat adventurous appearance, filled with an abundance of small black dots: no rhythm could be too complicated, no register too extreme and no harmony too dissonant. I devoted myself intensely to the handling of different parameters which in serial music coexist in total equality: I also studied aleatory principles and so-called minimal music.I subsequently emigrated and took up residence in Spain from where I embarked on numerous travels over the years to India, Africa and South America. I spent repeated periods during this time as a resident in non-European countries. This meant that the currents of contemporary music swept past me vaguely and at a great distance. What I instead absorbed during this period were other completely new cultures in which I attempted to immerse myself as intensively as possible.I learned foreign languages and came into contact with musicians of all classes and styles who had a different cultural heritage than my own: I was intoxicated with the diversity of artistic potential.Nevertheless, the further I distanced myself from my own Western musical heritage, the more this returned insistently in my consciousness.The scene can be imagined of sitting somewhere in the middle of the Brazilian jungle surrounded by the wailing of Indians and out of the blue being provided with the opportunity to hear Beethoven's late string quartets: this can be a heart-wrenching experience, akin to an identity crisis. This type of experience can also be described as cathartic. Whatever the circumstances, my 'renewed' occupation with the 'old' country would not permit me to return to the point at which I as an audacious young student had maltreated the musical parameters of so-called contemporary music. A completely different approach would be necessary: an extremely careful approach, inching my way gradually back into the Western world: an approach which would welcome tradition back into the fold, attempt to unfurl the petals and gently infuse this tradition with a breath of contemporary life.Although I am aware that I will not unleash a revolution or scandal with this approach, I am nevertheless confident as, with the musical vocabulary of this Requiem, I am travelling in an orbit in which no ballast or complex structures will be transported or intimated: on the contrary, I have attempted to form the message of the texts in music with the naivety of a 'homecomer'. Harald WeissColonia de San PedroMarch 2009.

SKU: PR.41641576L

UPC: 680160636549. 11 x 17 inches.

The 1712 Overture stands out in P.D.Q. Bach's oeuvre for two reasons, among others: it is by far the most programmatic instrumental piece among those by the minimeister of Wein-am-Rhein so far unearthed, and 2) its discovery has led to a revelation about the composer's father, Johann Sebastian Bach, that has exploded like a bombshell on the usually serene musicological landscape. The overture is based on an anecdote told to P.D.Q. Bach by a cousin, Peter Ulrich. Since P.U. Bach lived in Dudeldorf, only a few miles down the road from Wein-am-Rhein, he was P.D.Q.'s closest relative, and he was, in fact, one of the few members of the family who was on speaking terms with P.D.Q. The story, related to P.D.Q. (fortunately for us posterity types) in a letter, may be summarized thus: The town of Dudeldorf was founded by two brothers, Rudi and Dieter Dudel, early in the 18th century. Rudi remained mayor of the newborn burg for the rest of his long life, but Dieter had a dream of starting a musicians' colony, an entire city devoted to music, which dream, he finally decided, could be realized only in the New World. In 1712, he and several other bagpipers sailed to Boston, never to return to Germany. (Henceforth, Rudi became known as der deutscher Dudel and Dieter as the Yankee Dudel). Unfortunately, the head of the Boston Musicians' Guild had gotten wind of Dudel's plans, and Wilhelm Wiesel (pron. VEE-zle), known none too affectionately around town as Wiesel the Weasel, was not about to share what few gigs there were in colonial America with more foreigners and outside agitators. He and his cronies were on hand to meet Dudel's boat when it pulled into Boston Harbor; they intended to prevent the newcomers' disembarkation, but Dudel and his companions managed to escape to the other side of the bay in a dinghy, landing with just enough time to rent a carriage and horses before hearing the sound of The Weasel and his men, who had had to come around the long way. The Germans headed West, with the Bostonians in furious pursuit. soon the city had been left far behind, and by midnight so had the pursuers; Dieter Dudel decided that it was safe for him and his men to stop and sleep until daybreak. When they awoke, they found that they were in a beautiful landscape of low, forested mountains and pleasant fields, warmed by the brilliant morning sun and serenaded by an entrancing variety of birds. Here, Dudel thought, her is where I will build my colony. The immigrants continued down the road at a leisurely pace until they came upon a little church, all by itself in the countryside, from which there suddenly emanated the sounds of a pipe organ. At this point, the temptation to quote from P.U. Bach's letter to P.D.Q. cannot be resisted: They went inside and, after listening to the glorious music for a while, introduced themselves to the organist. And who do you think it was? Are you ready for this -- it was your old man! Hey, no kidding -- you know, I'm sure, that your father was the guy to get when it came to testing new organs, and whoever had that one in Massachusetts built offered old Sebastian a tidy sum to go over there and check it out. The unexpected meeting with J.S. Bach and his sponsors was interrupted by the sound of horse hooves, as the dreaded Wiesel and his men thundered on to the scene. They had been riding all night, however, and they were no spring chickens to start with, and as soon as they reached the church they all dropped, exhausted, to the ground. The elated Germans rang the church bells and offered to buy everyone a beer at the nearest tavern. There they were taught, and joined in singing, what might be called the national anthem of the New World. The melody of this pre-revolutionary patriotic song is still remembered (P.D.Q. Bach quotes it, in the bass instruments, near the end of the overture), but is words are now all but forgotten: Freedom, of thee we sing, Freedom e'er is our goal; Death to the English King, Long live Rock and Ross. The striking paucity of biographical references to Johann Sebastian Bah during the year 1712 can now be explained: he was abroad for a significant part of that year, testing organs in the British Colonies. That this revelation has not been accepted as fact by the musicological establishment is no surprise, since it means that a lot of books would have to be rewritten. The members of that establishment haven't even accepted the existence of P.D.Q. Bach, one of whose major works the 1712 Overture certainly is. It is also a work that shows Tchaikowsky up as the shameless plagiarizer that some of us have always known he was. The discovery of this awesome opus was made possible by a Boston Pops Centennial Research Commission; the first modern performance took place at the opening concert of the 100th anniversary season of that orchestra, under the exciting but authentic direction of John Williams.

SKU: AP.36-A134501

ISBN 9781638878902. UPC: 735816433864. English.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1858 and performed the work's debut in Hanover, Germany, in 1859, to mixed reviews. The work initially began as a sonata for two pianos, then a four-movement symphony. Under the counsel of friends Julius Otto Grimm and violinist Joseph Joachim, Brahms landed on a three-movement piano concerto. After its fifth performance in December 1861, with Clara Schumann as piano soloist, the work still received mixed audience reception. It has since grown in popularity and has been recognized as a masterpiece. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Piano.

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SKU: AP.36-A213048

ISBN 9798892705271. UPC: 659359875526. English.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) wrote his VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MINOR, Op. 8, between 1881 and 1882, and it remained his only foray in that genre. Composed while a teenager and still in school. While still very much a product of the Romantic era tradition, the work is not considered as distinctive as the works he would produce only a few years later, and Strauss himself later ridiculed the work. Still, with inventive and bold writing in the solo and hints of his mature harmonic style to come, there is much to enjoy in the work, including its warmth, youthful sincerity, and lyrical expression, so that it should not be dismissed as mere juvenilia, either by contemporary audiences or Strauss himself. The chamber version of the concerto was first performed in Vienna on December 5, 1882, with the dedicatee Benno Walter on the violin while Strauss played his own piano reduction. The premiere for the orchestral version would take place seven years later in Cologne on March 4, 1890, with Walter again performing the solo with an orchestra conducted by Franz Wüllner. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Violin.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.

SKU: AP.36-A213002

UPC: 659359873225. English.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) wrote his VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MINOR, Op. 8, between 1881 and 1882, and it remained his only foray in that genre. Composed while a teenager and still in school. While still very much a product of the Romantic era tradition, the work is not considered as distinctive as the works he would produce only a few years later, and Strauss himself later ridiculed the work. Still, with inventive and bold writing in the solo and hints of his mature harmonic style to come, there is much to enjoy in the work, including its warmth, youthful sincerity, and lyrical expression, so that it should not be dismissed as mere juvenilia, either by contemporary audiences or Strauss himself. The chamber version of the concerto was first performed in Vienna on December 5, 1882, with the dedicatee Benno Walter on the violin while Strauss played his own piano reduction. The premiere for the orchestral version would take place seven years later in Cologne on March 4, 1890, with Walter again performing the solo with an orchestra conducted by Franz Wüllner. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Violin.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.

SKU: AP.36-A128101

ISBN 9798892701303. UPC: 659359867675. English.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) completed his Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor in 1803, not long after writing the famous letter to his brothers, the Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he lamented his increasing deafness. He gave the first performance of the piece, as soloist, on April 5 in a public benefit concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. The opening melody in the first movement bears striking similarity to the first theme heard in Mozart's 24th piano concerto. As a whole, the piece provides an essential link between the Mozartean charm of the two earlier concertos and the more idiosyncratic work found in his middle period. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Piano.

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SKU: HL.14019121

ISBN 9781844492954. 9.0x12.0x0.303 inches.

Commissioned by the first Sibelius Conductor's Competition held in Helsinki in May 1995, as an obligatory piece to be rehearsed by all the competitors, Arena was performed in its totality at the annual Avanti! Chamber Orchestra's festival in Porvoo (Finland). Thematic thinking has never been a main feature in Lindberg's music, but here horizontal lines (one would not yet dare to call them melodies) gain some independence, for example in ornamental figures and in the intense cello solo around the middle of the piece. Arena also reveals some clearly new material - Lindberg has talked about Beethoven-like formal thinking, referring to a passage where the sense of movement seems to accelerate to an extreme so that finally one perceives only a motionless surface. Another new element - which was already used to some extent at the warmly hovering ending of Aura - is the almost romantic sound world and the suspension of the harmonies in the final climax, which can make one think of Mahler and Berg, or Lindberg's grand predecessor and compatriot, Sibelius. This is the Score, published by Chester Music; the duration of the pieces is approximately 16 minutes.

SKU: AP.36-A197102

UPC: 676737781071. English.

Written by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) in 1869, the Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 29 follows the standard concerto form while experimenting with harmony. Premiered on November 27th, 1869, by Saint-Saëns himself at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the work was not particularly well received at the time. Today, while not as popular as Saint-Saëns' second, fourth, or fifth concertos, the third, with its balance between delicate lyricism and virtuosity, remains an important addition to the piano concerto repertoire. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.3.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Piano.

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SKU: AP.36-A258101

ISBN 9798892701853. UPC: 659359980039. English.

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) completed the 1st version of his Mass No. 3 in F minor in 1863, as Otto Kitzler was introducing him to the music of Richard Wagner, the composer he would emulate for the rest of his life. John Herbeck, who conducted the initial rehearsals for its premiere at the Augustinerkirch on June 16, 1872, warmly declared that it stood beside Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in greatness. Bruckner, often self-critical as a composer, went on to revise the work no less than four times until it was finally published it in 1894. More often heard today in the concert hall than in the church, the sprawling, hour-long work is admired today for its powerful directness. This critical edition was created in 1944 for the Bruckner Gesamtausgabe by Robert Maria Haas. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.3.0: Timp: Org (ad libitum): Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo SATB: Mix Chor. The organ ad libitum is absent from the Haas edition.

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SKU: AP.36-A162248

ISBN 9798892700863. UPC: 659359562518. English.

Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) wrote Concerto for Cello in D minor a few years after the popular Symphonie espagnole in 1876 for Belgian cellist Adolphe Fischer. The following year, Fischer was the soloist for the premiere at the Cirque d'Hiver on December 9, 1877. Influenced by his Symphonie espagnole, this concerto evokes a Spanish atmosphere. At the time of its premiere, there were few serious cello concerti, leading Lalo's Concerto to serve as a catalyst for the cello to be considered a more soloistic instrument. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.3.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Vc in set.

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SKU: AP.36-A162201

ISBN 9798892700856. UPC: 659359871832. English.

Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) wrote Concerto for Cello in D minor a few years after the popular Symphonie espagnole in 1876 for Belgian cellist Adolphe Fischer. The following year, Fischer was the soloist for the premiere at the Cirque d'Hiver on December 9, 1877. Influenced by his Symphonie espagnole, this concerto evokes a Spanish atmosphere. At the time of its premiere, there were few serious cello concerti, leading Lalo's Concerto to serve as a catalyst for the cello to be considered a more soloistic instrument. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.3.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Vc in set.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.

SKU: AP.36-A258195

ISBN 9798892701884. UPC: 659359625268. English.

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) completed the 1st version of his Mass No. 3 in F minor in 1863, as Otto Kitzler was introducing him to the music of Richard Wagner, the composer he would emulate for the rest of his life. John Herbeck, who conducted the initial rehearsals for its premiere at the Augustinerkirch on June 16, 1872, warmly declared that it stood beside Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in greatness. Bruckner, often self-critical as a composer, went on to revise the work no less than four times until it was finally published it in 1894. More often heard today in the concert hall than in the church, the sprawling, hour-long work is admired today for its powerful directness. This critical edition was created in 1944 for the Bruckner Gesamtausgabe by Robert Maria Haas.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.

SKU: AP.36-A170648

ISBN 9798892700887. UPC: 659359533921. English.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote his Violin Concerto in E minor over a six-year period from 1838 to 1844 for his childhood friend, the violinist Ferdinand David, who contributed the cadenza in the version of the concerto most performed today. The concerto premiered on March 13, 1845 in Leipzig, but Mendelssohn himself was unable to conduct due to illness. Unlike most concerti of the time, Mendelssohn has the violin enter immediately without any orchestral introduction, and its cadenza is unusually placed after the development of the first movement instead of at the end of the movement. The concerto remains one of the most ubiquitous pieces in the violin repertoire. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Vn in set.

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SKU: AP.36-A170602

UPC: 659359722448. English.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote his Violin Concerto in E minor over a six-year period from 1838 to 1844 for his childhood friend, the violinist Ferdinand David, who contributed the cadenza in the version of the concerto most performed today. The concerto premiered on March 13, 1845 in Leipzig, but Mendelssohn himself was unable to conduct due to illness. Unlike most concerti of the time, Mendelssohn has the violin enter immediately without any orchestral introduction, and its cadenza is unusually placed after the development of the first movement instead of at the end of the movement. The concerto remains one of the most ubiquitous pieces in the violin repertoire. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Vn in set.

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SKU: AP.36-A170302

UPC: 735816455903. English.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote Capriccio Brillant, Op. 22 during his second vist to England. This charming example of Mendelssohn's writing for piano has two movements: an Andante with a gentle, reflective melody and an Allegro con fuoco that shatters the previous languid mood with a cascade of arpeggios that leads into a march-like principal theme. The solo piano part never lapses into dazzling technique for its own sake. It premiered in London by the Philharmonic Society on May 25th, 1832. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Piano.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.